Re: General Discussion

13127
civ ollilavad wrote:Oscar Mercado also with both CLE and PHI this year. He had 121 AB with us, 1 with the Phillies. He should get a partial share from the Guardians but not sure if one at bat earns him 1/500 share from the phils.
The players on the team vote on this type of stuff. So it really could end up anything. It is not a set formula.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain

Re: General Discussion

13131
Antonetti wins exec of the year.
Tito one of 3 finalists for Manager of the Year; Baltimore skipper could beat him for everyone more overachievement than the Gs
Kwan one of 3 finalists for ROY. I assume Julio Rodriguez will win. JRod and Rutschman were the Top Prospects coming into the season and performed as expected. Kwan was nowhere to be found on top 100 prospects. Amazing that he winds up among the top 3.

And by the way, he and Rutschman were college teammates at Oregon State.

Re: General Discussion

13132
t’s decision time for Major League front offices today.

All 30 teams have until 6 p.m. ET to make decisions about their 40-man rosters. Some prospects will earn a coveted spot, some will not and will thus be eligible to be picked up by another team in the Rule 5 Draft, which will take place at the Winter Meetings in San Diego on Wednesday, Dec. 7.

Below is a list of all 30 teams' Top 30 prospects who need to be protected to avoid being exposed to the Rule 5 Draft.

Cleveland Guardians
Angel Martinez, SS (No. 11)
Joey Cantillo, LHP (No. 23)

One of the shortest list in the majors.
Other guys could be worth protecting too as we have discussed recently e.g. Peyton Battenfield,

The other side of the equation is who should be removed from the 40 man roster to make room for the newly protected.
They like Anthony Gose but just underwent surgery and will miss the whole season
Maile. they like his defense and will need someone like him to backup Naylor and Hedges is a free agent.
Lavastida. Another catcher who did very little positive this year
Carlos Vargas finally off the long term disabled list; after protecting him when he couldn't pitch I assume they will continue to although he's only a reliever now.
Kirk McCarty was progessively better during the season but not much of a ceiling.
Richie Palacios. He is a pretty good; probably will top out as a utility guy. But they probably do't want to lose him either.

Re: General Discussion

13133
Nolan Jones to Rockies for Juan Brito:

31. Juan Brito (89 points, 9 ballots), 2018 IFA (DR), 2B at Low-A (20)

Brito fell short of the list by a single point in voting. Like Guerrero, Brito is a 2018 Latin American signing who stood out to scouts after a strong 2021 stateside debut. The switch-hitting infielder had a 143 wRC+ in his 2019 DSL debut season, then was assigned to the ACL team in 2021. Against pitching that was on average 0.8 years older, Brito hit .296/.406/.432 in 109 PA (126 wRC+) on a very impressive Rockies ACL team.

Brito made his full-season debut with Low-A Fresno in 2022, where he was about 1.1 years younger than league average. Once again, Brito has shown his offensive prowess as one of the younger players in the league. In 398 PA, Brito has a .284/.410/.474 line (132 wRC+) that includes eight homers among his 39 extra-base hits, plus 16 steals on 23 attempts. Brito’s plate discipline is notable, as he’s actually walking more (16%) than he is striking out (15%). In 86 games (mostly at second base), Brito has committed 11 errors.

The advanced offensive approach at Brito’s age/level combination has caught the eye of FanGraphs, who ranks him 15th in the system as a 40+ FV player (the write-up is from January):

The compact, switch-hitting Brito is a bat-driven prospect with terrific feel for contact from both sides of the plate. He’s only a 30-grade runner but is an average overall athlete with enough control to contort his body and make timely, accurate throws to first base even though he lacks defensive range. Brito’s ability to get on top of fastballs and put the barrel on inner-third strikes is, at least in part, enabled by his super short levers, which make him tough to beat in the strike zone. He’s a compact 20-year-old without overt physical projection, and the hit tool will almost certainly have to carry his entire offensive profile. It can be precarious projecting second base-only types without much power since they lack the defensive versatility to play utility roles if they don’t make enough offensive impact to justify playing second base every day. Brito is in this danger zone, but has the most important skill in baseball. He’s also 20 and has no experience above the complex level with his 40-man roster evaluation year looming. He should be a high-priority Rule 5 evaluation for other orgs and has a shot to be a second division regular at second base.

The grades attached to the report are highlighted by a 60 future hit tool, with everything else grading below average. This means that Brito needs to keep hitting well above league average to distinguish himself as a prospect, which to his credit he has done thus far. I ranked Brito 19th on my personal ballot as a 40+ FV prospect because the hit tool is the most important one and Brito has shown great promise in that category. Brito is yet another Rule 5 eligible player this off-season, one who in my opinion the Rockies are in more danger of losing than others due to the potential playability of Brito’s hit tool even against big league pitching.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain

Re: General Discussion

13134
has a .284/.410/.474 line (132 wRC+) that includes eight homers among his 39 extra-base hits, plus 16 steals on 23 attempts. Brito’s plate discipline is notable, as he’s actually walking more (16%) than he is striking out (15%).
Sounds like your standard Guardian.

I thought Jones would get a chance to play 1st in the majors in '23. Surprising move; giving away their several season No. 1 prospect for another middle infielder.

Re: General Discussion

13135
No room on the 40 man for Jones civ?

And they trade him for a guy who they don't have to put on the 40?

As for being a middle infielder sounds like he is a hitter only and wouldn't stay there anyways?
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain

Re: General Discussion

13136
that's a surprising move, isn't it? Brito may hit his way to something useful but 2nd base only is not a high ceiling.
Jones didn't do much in his debut after the first few days but I certainly expected him to get further chances to prove himself.

We'd need to see a neutral source for interpretation of that deal.
I would not have been shocked if Palacios were traded, but they seem to be corralling every Low Strikeout good bat to ball hitter out there.